Rippling Echoes
by xXPantheraXx
Summary: Before Petalfur and Rippletail leave to find the lost water, they discover a bond stronger than the force trying to destroy the lake. They make a promise to return at the end of the journey, but sadly only one will make it back alive. Spoilers for TFA!


**A/N: Here's another One-Shot I wrote last night, called Rippling Echoes. Beware this does have a few spoilers for The Fourth Apprentice, and it takes place before Petalfur and Rippletail leave to find the lost water. Now I don't know for sure if these two were mates, but if you read the book you know something was going on between them.**

**I hope you like it and please check out a Seekers One-Shot I wrote called "Guardian in the Stars", please review if you can! :)**

**~Leo~**

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**_**Rippling Echoes**_

Hot air blew through RiverClan camp,drying out the already scorched grass near where these cats once called the shore. Now dark brown mud only lay at its edge, tiny spirals formed in the liquid mess, kind of like rings.

Rippletail sat on the outskirts of camp, staring at what once used to be the lake he and his clan loved and depended on. Now it was nothing more than a large puddle, and even that water was pretty much all mud.

Rippletail could faintly see the RiverClan patrols Mistystar had sent to guard the fish, cornering a group of ShadowClan cats. He didn't really see why they couldn't let the clans at least have water, it wasn't like they were going to drink the whole lake dry!

Averting his gaze from the dismal sight, Rippletail perked his ears as Leopardstar exited her den. What was once a strong noble leader, was now nothing but a bony elder.

The golden spotted Leopardstar had finally met her final seasons, everyone knew she wouldn't last much longer, especially while being sick.

"Rippletail" he turned backwards as Mistyfoot padded forward, "Can I have a word with you and Petalfur please? It's about what happened at the gathering."

"Of course" he meowed, bending his head and following the dark gray deputy into her den.

Rippletail had to cover his eyes from the intense sun, it was almost blinding! Walking into the den, the dark gray tom felt his heart skip a beat as he gazed upon the gray and white furred she-cat, named Petalfur.

"As you both know, Firestar has proposed that each clan sends two cats on a journey to find the lost water" Mistyfoot began as both her warriors nodded in remembrance.

"Well I can think of no cats better than the two of you to be on that journey" her blue gaze held something hidden, "You will leave tomorrow at Sunrise."

_Me? _Rippletail almost wanted to shout out, Mistyfoot was picking him of all cats in RiverClan to go on this journey? Surely Reedwhisker or Graymist were more suited and more experienced than him, and certainly more than Petalfur, she was the youngest warrior in the clan!

"Alright Mistystar, we will try our best" Petalfur bowed her head to the deputy, and brushed past Rippletail as she exited.

Quickly following the young warrior, the dark gray tom searched for the right words to say.

"So I wonder why she chose us?" Petalfur meowed as she sat on the pebbly bank, "I mean we aren't the most experienced warriors."

Rippletail chuckled, "Speak for yourself, I was trained by Reedwhisker thank you very much." Everyone in RiverClan knew Reedwhisker was perhaps one of the strongest and wisest cats, he knew everything!

"Hey!" Petalfur's eyes lit up with an idea, "Lets go down to the lake before night falls, you never know what might happen on the journey. This may be the last time we see it."

Rippletail flicked his tail uncomfortably, surely the journey would go fine. They'd find the lost water and restore the lake to the former glory it once was.

Everything was going to be fine, right?

* * *

Tiny ripples pulsated through the brown depths of the lake as the two RiverClan cats padded into the cool, calming water. Minnows swam beneath their paws, extremely to fast for Rippletail to catch.

"Wow look at the sunset" Petalfur gasped, her green eyes reflecting the pale scarlet fiery sky in the distance.

Rippletail turned, a sense of serenity rising up from his core. He wanted to stay here, where its safe and he's around friends and family, not wandering off on some journey StarClan only knows where!

But another part of Rippletail knew that cats would die if he didn't at least attempt to get the water back, his own former apprentice Mallownose was nothing more than a skeleton now.

And then gazing onto the beautiful Petalfur, whose fur glinted the color of crimson and eyes that matched StarClan in beauty.

_What if something happens to Petalfur on the journey, _Rippletail would never forgive himself if she was hurt, or even....killed.

"I know what you're thinking about" Petalfur's soft meow broke him out of his worried trance, "You're afraid one of us might not come back."

The muscled dark gray tom lowered his head, his blue eyes flickering with emotion he so deeply wanted to let out.

"I'll be there with you the whole time" Petalfur assured him with a smile full of care, "We'll be traveling together, not alone. And no matter what happens I'll always be there for you."

The young pretty she-cat lowered her head to meet Rippletail's, a _mrrow _rising from her throat as he started to smile. Rippletail felt better when Petalfur talked to him, he felt....like nothing could separate them, like they could conquer the world if they wanted to!

"I have an idea" Petalfur's meow sounded from a fox-length away as she trod through the mud and back towards the shore.

Turning his head to the side in confusion, Rippletail soon followed, leaping through the mud like an energized apprentice. The brown goopy stuff coated his paws, it smelled of dirt and dead fish!

"If this isn't my main reason for getting back the water" he swore as part of the stuff flew onto his pelt, "Then it really should be."

Padding further up the shore, Rippletail noticed the gray and white she-cat sorting through pebbles, had she finally snapped?

"Come help me" Petalfur ushered him forward, pawing at different colored pebbles as she traced the bank.

"And exactly what am I helping you with?" he asked both truthfully and sarcastically, "Are we trying to find more pebbles to throw at unruly ShadowClan warriors?".

But the gray and white warrior didn't answer as she through pebbles aside, until finally she found a large round white stone.

"Find one as big as this" she told him, picking hers up in her jaws and going down onto the muddy bank once more.

Now even more curious than ever, the RiverClan tom quickly scrounged through the dry pebbles until he found a dark gray one even bigger than Petalfur's. Picking the large stone up in his jaws, Rippletail almost broke a fang as it slid backwards.

"Y war we doin' this?" he mumbled through a mouth full of pebble, going up to Petalfur and dropping it onto the ground. They were about two fox-lengths away from the waters edge, but still a considerable distance away from the shore.

"There!" Petalfur meowed triumphantly as she jammed the stone into the mud, it wasn't going to move unless someone pulled it out.

"Here" she grabbed his stone and did the same, both now stood in the mud next to each other."

Rippletail simply eyed his clan mate weirdly, "And what exactly was the point of all this? I almost broke a fang!".

Petalfur smiled, "Now if we do find the water, we both need to return to pull our stones out before it rises to the shore. That way we'll both have something to return to, and for."

Rippletail finally knew what she meant by the pebbles, this was a reason they both had to return safely, they both had to return alive.

"Maybe when we return from the journey we'll become more than friends" he meowed softly, slightly embarrassed.

"I'd like that" Petalfur twitched her whiskers with a purr, and motioned for them to return to camp.

"We better get back before it gets to late, I think Mothwing wanted to show us some herbs to use on the journey" and with that beautiful she-cat streamed past Rippletail, her sweet scent overcoming the awful stench from the mud.

And as the dark gray tom stared down at the two pebbles before him, for some reason he knew they meant something more than just being stuck in the mud.

They symbolized the newly found love between Rippletail and Petalfur, and even if he didn't return, StarClan forbid, their love would stay here for moons on end.

And the last thing Rippletail heard as the sun set beneath the horizon, _was the faint sound of rippling echoes in the distance._


End file.
